Where do you stand?

Are you conflicted by religious and moral imperative to help but are unable to do for because the world is so confusing? Do you find that when you have an idea it is mothballed by damning rhetoric popularized by politicians and the media?
Dan's talk lucidized much of the problems I have been unable to put my finger on. I'm a sociology student and musicology student and I object to subversive advertise placement in movies and tv programmes.I object to the condemning rhetoric from our politicians which condemns the helpless into cycles of poverty, as Dan Pallotta helped make sense of the confusion is ingrained in our flawed perceptions of what charity actually means. What do other's think?

Apr 9 2013:
Look past the advertising, you usually don't find beautiful models helping the needy, you want to help? Then get down to the level of those who you want to help, find those who operate on that level. A good place to start is the street. If you're in need then the only thing that you could possibly give is your time, one on one is usually the best, opens up that world to you. We are gate ways to different worlds but if you don't talk to anyone then those different worlds are on different continents even if they are standing next to you on a train.

Apr 7 2013:
Helen, I would say ad placement in movies helps bring the cost of a movie ticket down. Are you willing to pay more for a movie to do away with the placements?

I never feel confused by religious and moral imperatives. I try to pick simple, unobjectionable causes, like picking up litter. You'd be surprised, I suppose someone could devote their life to picking up litter.

I don't find my ideas get mothballed. If I'm convinced I have a good idea, I keep after it until it either gets implemented or someone shows me why I'm wrong. For instance, there are trouble spots in my city that attract a lot of litter, and they're in dangerous traffic areas where non-city-workers can't go. I ask my city to pick them up, I keep a record of who I asked, when I asked, how the request was referenced, i.e. every request to the city gets a reference number or identifier. If the spot doesn't get picked up for a couple of weeks, I call back and ask what happened, ask again that it be picked up. Eventually it does.

I should turn your questions back at you. Are you conflicted by religious and moral imperative to help but are unable to do so because the world is so confusing? What religious and moral imperatives to help are in your mind? Do you find that when you have an idea it is mothballed by damning rhetoric popularized by politicians and the media? What ideas have you had that you have mothballed? If you share them here, maybe we can help you figure out if they're worth implementing and how to do it.

Apr 7 2013:
Helen, maybe I am being more concrete than what you are looking for, but I have never doubted that there is a lot I can do to help others. Drew Dudley's TED talk is one that addresses this point, Bono's another, but many talks here have that subject.

Some opportunities to make a positive difference arise every day when you pass people on the street or at the grocery, at school or at work. Drew Dudley's takes this view. Beyond this, most of us can recognize some of our great personal strengths and how to share what we are and what our strengths allow us to do.

No one can reach a hand everywhere, as you say. (My mother used to say that you cannot sit with one behind in two places simultaneously). But once you realize this you can decide where it makes sense for you to specialize and then look for other opportunities as well.

Apr 12 2013:
Where do I stand ? Conversation. For me life has been a continous learning experience about self.
Yes, I have made mistakes in life, some has brought me pain and suffering . But wisdom and knowledge has also come with age, experience and learning.

It's been exhiliarting to climb on the shoulders of great minds, both philosophy and arts, and also in science.

But dominating element of this life journey has been my inheritance in spirituality coming from my family roots linked to ancient Hindu cultural heritage of India.

So, where do I stnad now __In my day to day life pursuits ?

More Conversaton: I seek to demonstrate the philosophy of wisdom that have evolved over the years in every day liviing as follows:

Pursuit and demonstrate by example :

Humanity, Peace, Justice and Dignity for all on a commuity, nation and as "Friends of Earth" .

I just searched "Boosters Prelude to Our Greece Trade Ambassador Journey_ Fairfax VA Community Vitality Twin" as an example of pursuit of this philosophy.

Wow ! , several things I have published including a short video on Utube just came up !

Apr 9 2013:
It is simple;
Charities should hire profession fund/donation rising services, and not consulting con men like Dan.

A legit profession services would be hired to host fund/donation rising events, for 3% commission of profits.
And if they are not good enough turn a profit and to earn a living off the 3% , then the charity should not have to pay the cost of their failures.

Apr 8 2013:
To me there are only three steps to being charitable, anything beyond that and your over-thinking it.

1. Do your best to not need it, or need as little charity as possible
2. Do your best to never need it. (AI: stay health and save for retirement)
3. After and only after steps 1 & 2, Give to people that by no fault of their own need help doing the three steps and show desire to do so.

Apr 8 2013:
I did not say never ask for charity, in fact in step 1. I say “need as little charity as possible”.
So if you do your best and still need charity, asking for charity is clearly what you need to do.

I say those who ask for charity but don’t need charity are the ones creating an insular society.

Apr 8 2013:
I should add why I’m a little overly passionate about this;
Not only I worked my whole adult life to stay self-reliant, ever sense ten years ago with the development of an health illness it has been a daily battle to stay self-reliant.
And I know those who have lost their battle and then have to fight to get charity/aid because of those too lazy to even work to be self-reliant using up the limited funds for charity and aid.

Apr 8 2013:
I don't think there's overly passionate about anything, as long as no ones getting blown up. You bring up an interesting point about self sufficiency. The recent DLA to PIP change being implemented recently causes severe dismay and heart ache. Challenging public empathy with exaggerated stories about benefit scroungers milking the system.
Thank you for sharing though.

Apr 8 2013:
dismissal of my person. I try to be open and to listen to everyone and their views. I try to understand their world view and to understand the systems they work in. Such as business, and it's ethics (or lack of) and the economic sector etc. I find overwhelming that people in these sectors are more accepting of others views and opinions. But no one seems to believe that people can be changed.
Dan's talk about the way we think about charity struck a humming chord in me which is still echoing in my head.
So my absolute truth is...? I'll think about it today, but thank you again for the replies.

Thank you for your advice.
Fritz I'm currently a Sociology Major with aspirations of changing something fundamental. It sounds highly naive to my self as well. I began this conversation to get a little clarity on where I should start.
I began with getting a solid education, and currently working on being able to write a concise and coherent sentence. The way I was brought a persons worth is based purely on their contribution to society, and not by the car they drove or clothes they wore. To this end, when I entered Academia, I realised first hand the difference privilege has upon people and quality of life. It seems straight forward to me now, but it grates against the way I was raised and the community values i learnt.
I've never taken a business course, or an economics course but I'm fascinated by how they work. Sociology explains the bureaucratic systems, which before was just a hazy word. I guess I just wanted to see if anyone was a confused as I can get.
I've said I want to write social theory in the past, (and my friend asked me if I was having an existential crisis, and then told me I was too young for one) I want to make people at the bottom of the social scale realise the power of education, and that it is attainable with today's technologies. I want people to realise that every career is valid, and that bankers aren't evil, and oil companies serve the needs and demands the consumers. Maybe I should just keep studying...?
:) Pat, I'm not sure what my goal is. I guess to promote the ideas I believe can make a difference and empower people through my own stories and writing.
Greg, I am sometimes conflicted by the negative reports about the Catholic church in the media. I'm frustrated by the way our (uk) politicians use xenophobic arguments to blame immigrants for the woes of the country and even more dismayed by the way people just seem to accept what they hear or read on the news...
I am a believer in God, and feel instant

Apr 7 2013:
This world is based upon merit of the individual, good fortune of geographic and parental locale, and the inner will of the single person. Business and stock markets and algorithms are the mess of scrolling green code I see before me. Religious intolerance I perceive, but reactionary insight given does not help me make sense of the green fog. Somewhere down there, where I can’t see, can only feel, is the faint outline of an idea, or a shadow of where I know it comes from. Inspiration spurred onwards, skipping.
“Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong” was a clip I watched in the effort to chirp myself up, and perhaps a subconscious way of giving myself some purpose once more. His talk oscillated with me, in my own need to do something, but also lucidized the challenges before me. He used numbers, and jargon like overheads I’ll understand the second and third time round much more I’m sure.

Apr 7 2013:
Where do I stand? If you’re not with us…?
Like Neo in the Matrix, many of us know instinctively that there is something wrong with the world. I have spent more hours than I can quantify trying to decide what the right thing to do is. And by the right thing, I mean choosing the path or making the decision which does not end up with someone feeling hurt, or rejected or whatever. Insignificant age and experience has taught me that this is not the way of it. In my sociology studies, I recently pondered the phrase, one can become trapped in ones skin by feeling too comfortable. Change is only promoted by discomfort and one’s ability to adapt is paramount to success in this world. This wrong world though, one which we cannot wake up from, is one in which we must find a way to adapt. Adapt how is the question? There is so much information in this world, advertising being thrown at us, our empathy being constantly tapped by the misery and suffering of people in numbers most of us cannot and will not comprehend. We become apathetic in our struggle, pinned down by ancient moral codes, and rhetoric popularised by our politician and the media. Where do we go for guidance and who can we trust? And how amongst all of this can we begin to even think about helping? Because we cannot focus long enough to pick a hand to take. It is our imperative to give or do charity, but that word has so many meanings for different people.
Some will say, “Charity begins at home”, another will helpfully tell you the monetary value that should be allotted every month or week of personal wages. Another may simply say charity is lending a hand with the dishes, and giving an ear to someone in need. All of this advice is meant as either helpful aid, or simply an interjection, for whatever reason.

TED Conversations Archives

We’ve spent three years sharing Ideas, Debates and Questions — and learned a lot.

Now we’re going on hiatus to retool and rebuild from the inside out for a better conversation experience.